Classical Inquiries

etymology
By Gregory Nagy

Some missing links in my efforts to trace continuities as well as discontinuities in Minoan-Mycenaean scribal practices

2020.01.17 | By Gregory Nagy §0. The picture I show here, which is a photograph of a legal document composed in the Aramaic language and written on papyrus, illustrates a point I hope to make on the occasion of an event planned for the future. The event, organized by Giulia Sissa, will take place in the spring of 2020 at the Johns Hopkins University. Papers written in honor of Marcel… Read more

By Gregory Nagy

About Greek alētheia ‘truth’: Marcel Detienne challenges Martin Heidegger

2018.10.11 | By Gregory Nagy §0. In the book Sein und Zeit (1927) and in other works by Martin Heidegger, the etymology of the Greek word alētheia ‘truth’ is explained as a negativizing of the element lēth-, attested as the verb lanthanein, which is used primarily in the sense of ‘escape the notice of’ in ancient Greek texts. Accordingly, Heidegger interpreted the basic meaning of alētheia as ‘unconcealedness’—to cite a… Read more

Concise inventory of Greek etymologies

Two new etymologies by Laura Massetti: Kheírōn and Marsúās

2018.07.20 | Introduced by Olga Levaniouk This posting follows up on two previous postings (2016.01.15 by Gregory Nagy and 2016.01.31 by Olga Levaniouk), which introduced A concise inventory of Greek etymologies, an ongoing project that focuses on the cultural significance of Greek etymologies (broadly understood). The entries that are already part of the project are available in Issue 15 of Classics@. This post highlights a recent contribution to CIGE by… Read more

Guest Post

Linear B po-re-na, po-re-si, and po-re-no-

2018.02.04 | By Roger D. Woodard §0. Opinions have varied and swayed regarding the interpretation of the Linear B term po-re-na. Whatever meaning is assigned, many would draw the forms po-re-si and po-re-no- into their interpretation of po-re-na, and vice versa. In this investigation I begin with the interpretation of po-re-na that appears most probable and reconsider po-re-si and po-re-no- on the basis of both internal and comparative evidence. [[For… Read more

By Gregory Nagy

Iphigeneia and Iphianassa

2017.01.12 | By Gregory Nagy One of Agamemnon’s daughters has two alternating names in Greek myths, Iphigeneia and Iphianassa. Both names, it is argued here, have something basic to say about the very idea of kingship. Read more